Telecommunications systems commonly include cables (e.g., fiber optic cables, or copper twisted pair cables) for interconnecting pieces of telecommunications equipment. Telecommunications racks typically hold a variety of different pieces of telecommunications equipment. Often thousands of cables are used to interconnect the various pieces of telecommunications equipment mounted on the racks.
Because of the large number of cables associated with telecommunications equipment, cable management is crucial. Cable management involves efficiently routing cables to minimize the space occupied by such cables. Cable management also involves routing cables in an orderly manner so as to reduce the likelihood of cable tangling. Ease of cable organization is also a factor related to effective cable management.
Cable management is also important in preventing damage to the cables. Unnecessary or excessive displacement of fiber optic cables, for example, is undesirable. As the fiber optic cables are displaced, they are subject to bending and other forces. Bending of the fibers can cause attenuation and loss of signal strength. As the fiber bends, the fiber can also break, resulting in a loss of transmission through the fiber.
According to one example type of cable management, cable spools may extend from a surface in columns, rows, or other configurations. One or more fiber optic cables may be hung over or wrapped around a curved surface of one or more of these spools to take up the slack length of the fiber optic cable.
In general, cable management improvement has been sought, generally to efficiently and effectively manage cables by providing system adaptability, and ease of cable organization, especially in such spool-based systems.